South Carolina is Home to 11 of Nation’s 25 Worst Public Schools

South Carolina families already worried by the discouraging results of the late 2008 School Report Cards may be even more troubled by the results of a recent study on the worst public schools in the U.S. According to this study, South Carolina public schools account for almost half of the nation’s “25 Worst Schools.” Increasingly worse reports about South Carolina’s public education system have been glossed over by indignant education bureaucrats who urge parents to “stay the course,” and stay focused on the state’s “high standards.”

While education officials frantically try to pass the blame, graduation rates have plummeted to horrific levels, SAT and ACT scores remain uncompetitive, and achievement gaps between black and white students have grown.

This latest addition to the long list of reports on South Carolina’s failure to provide a quality education for all students should be a warning to lawmakers and educators alike. While some schools in South Carolina are providing a high-quality education, many more fall far short of that, and hundreds of thousands of students are forced to attend them with little hope of anything better.

Through school choice (specifically Student Scholarship Organizations), low income and minority students can have expanded access to schools with the same level of quality instruction available to students in high performing school districts. Waiting years and years for things to change in failing schools is not a legitimate option for children who need access to a quality school now. State lawmakers must decide: are the futures of thousands of children worth them making the effort to pass school choice legislation? The children would say “yes.”